Cathie Wood is the founder, CEO, and chief investment officer of Ark Invest. The company is a registered investment advisory (RIA) that focuses on disruptive innovation, which it defines as "the introduction of a technologically enabled new product or service that potentially changes the way the world works." Learn more about Cathie Wood and her investment approach and career highlights.
Primary roles
Primary roles
Wood registered Ark Investment Management with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2014. Her goal in creating the advisory was to focus on disruptive innovation.
Wood began her career at The Capital Group as an assistant economist after graduating with a degree in economics and finance from the University of Southern California. She co-founded hedge fund Tupelo Capital Management and later joined AllianceBernstein as head of global thematic strategies. She spent 12 years at the firm, managing more than $5 billion in assets, before launching Ark in 2014.
Investment strategy
Investment strategy
Wood's vision of disruptive innovation encompasses technologies with the potential to drastically lower costs, transcend sectors and geographic borders, and spur further innovation. Frequently, that vision has translated into investments in blockchain technology, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and genomics.
Due to their focus on emerging technology, Wood's portfolios tend to exhibit high volatility. While Wood's approach has sometimes yielded outsized returns, she's also been criticized for taking major risks on unprofitable companies and for making gut-based decisions about investing.
However, Ark publishes daily disclosures about its trades -- an unusual level of transparency compared to the quarterly disclosures that most funds provide. Ark also frequently posts white papers and YouTube videos explaining the research and reasoning behind its investments.
Career highlights
Career highlights
Under Wood's direction, Ark has been an early investor in multiple blockbuster companies, including Tesla (TSLA 1.39%), Roku (ROKU 4.51%), Block (XYZ -0.14%), previously Square, and CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP 3.6%). Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Wood also invested Ark funds in companies like Zoom (ZM 0.23%) and Teladoc (TDOC -0.06%) -- which became prominent stay-at-home stocks -- and increased Ark's positions in these companies during the pandemic.
The best investment you can make is in the companies building the future.Cathie Wood, founder of Ark Invest
Ark's flagship ETF, the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK 2.35%), which Wood actively manages, achieved astounding returns of over 150% in 2020, cementing her reputation as a famed investor. Those jaw-dropping returns were due to a host of factors.
These include widespread adoption of trends such as working from home and telehealth, Tesla's soaring returns, the rise of retail investing, and near-zero interest rates. Wood also became prominent on social media platforms like Alphabet's (GOOG 2.17%)(GOOGL 2.23%) YouTube and Twitter (now X) during this time.
However, some of Wood's long-term returns have been less impressive. For instance, the ARK Innovation ETF is down by about 23% over the past five years. While a few ARK funds, such as ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW 1.29%), have outperformed the broader market over the past five years, many have lagged behind the S&P 500 during that period.
Philosophy and legacy
Philosophy and legacy
Wood, who turns 70 on Nov. 26, 2025, is still building her legacy. Much of that legacy will likely be linked to the pandemic. COVID-19 accelerated the kind of disruptive innovation Wood has bet big on. Trends like remote work, digital payments, and telemedicine that once seemed years or decades away from going mainstream became the norm virtually overnight. The rise of retail investing -- accelerated by people being stuck at home with stimulus checks in their bank accounts -- fueled Wood's celebrity even further.
Since the pandemic, Wood's funds have struggled to match their past performance. Her legacy will ultimately depend on whether she can again deliver market-crushing returns.
Awards, honors, and recognition
Awards, honors, and recognition
Wood has received multiple accolades throughout her career, including:
- The Bloomberg 50, 2018
- Forbes Most Powerful Women, 2021
- Forbes 50 Over 50, 2021
However, some of the recognition Wood has received is a bit more dubious. For example, in 2024, Morningstar named the ARK Innovation ETF No. 3 on its Top 15 Wealth-Destroying Funds Over the Past 10 Years.
Wood founded the Dudley Innovation Center of Excellence at her alma mater, Notre Dame Academy High School, to inspire innovation among women.
